This invention rlates generally to a storage apparatus for dry material in bulk, and specifically, to an apparatus for easily, conveniently, and inexpensively storing and protecting large quantities of grain outdoors.
It is often necessary to store grain and other dry material in bulk form in quantities that may at times exceed the permanent storage capacity available. For instance, an abundant harvest one year may produce an overflow of grain which would not fit into a farmer's silo or other permanent storage system. Exposing the grain to the environment for long periods of time may produce detrimental results such as removal of the grain by wind, rain, animal, or other natural forces, fungus and bacterial infection, and contamination with other materials. For these reasons it is desirable to devise alternatives to simply piling the grain on an open, uncovered data of farmland.
In the past most alternatives involved the construction of auxiliary permanent storage structures or temporary structures which are easily assembled and dismantled. Permanent structures are undesirable because of their expense. Typical temporary structures, which are less costly, have been assembled from sheets of corrugated metal, arranged and connected so as to form a circular storage area. The grain is then loaded into the enclosed area within the wall. After a grain pile of desired height and shape has been provided, the pile is covered with a lightweight but waterproof material, such as a tarpaulin.
In many cases, the efectiveness, durability, lifetime and cost of the temporary storage structure is determined by the means by which the tarpaulin is attached to the circular wall or, alternatively, to the surface of the surrounding farmland. The tarpaulin must be attached so that it continues to shield the grain pile in the most demanding weather conditions. The stresses on the tarpaulin must be distributed to the supporting anchors so as to place a minimum of tensile strain on any one area of the tarpaulin. Otherwise, the tarpaulin will tear from its supports, expose the grain pile to the damaging effects of surrounding environment, and increase the possibility of further injury to the tarpaulin, for instance, by the flapping of a loose tarpaulin edge against the circular wall.
The typical means of attaching the tarpaulin, with cables running directly from the tarpaulin to surface anchors, has not proved sufficient to stabilize the tarpaulin, especially in high winds, and still disperse the supporting stresses over a sufficient number of points so as to minimize the possibility of tarpaulin tearing and deterioration. The large size of most circular bins (at least up to 100 feet in diameter) has usually required a substantial increase in the number of surface anchors and auxiliary hardware required to secure the tarpaulin, thus increasing the costs of such apparatus prohibitively.